Hanging by a Moment
by Akimi Kono
Summary: A classroom rivalry, fractured relationships, bad decisions and the confusion of teenage years make high school harder than it should be. Making mistakes is part of finding out where you're supposed to be. Sometimes personal growth comes from realizing you can't fix every broken person you meet and not everyone is your friend. (Rewritten first 2 chapters.) IrukaxOFC.
1. The Good, The Bad and The Dirty

**A/N:** Here it is ... the final rewritten version of this story. It probably feels like I've jerked you guys around a lot. This story just means a lot to me and I've finally FINALLY figured out some idea of a plot, so I had to rewrite the first 2 chapters to fit, otherwise there'd be some huge plot holes. Thank you for being patient with me. I hope that this final version is the best version I can give to you guys.

Don't forget to review/comment, subscribe to alerts, and favorite this story! Thank you so much!

(And as always, the characters/plot of Naruto do not belong to me! This is just a fanfiction I've created out of my love for this series.)

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Aika, a second year Konoha High student who looked like she still belonged in Konoha Junior High down the street, took up the sixth and final seat at one of the circular outside tables for lunch, quietly greeting the group of seniors there. Four others - Izumo, Kurenai, Hayate, and Kotetsu - returned her greeting but the fifth was concentrating on fishing out a piece of tofu from his soup with disposable chopsticks. When Aika sat down next to him, he glanced up and dropped the piece back into the broth, splashing himself in the face.

"Ah! Aika-chan!" Iruka sputtered, setting his bowl down and reaching for a napkin to wipe his chin. "What are you doing here? I thought you were sitting over there already." He motioned towards another table where six others were sitting - including a brunette girl whose face was turned away. The other girl turned and he saw that it wasn't a girl - it was Genma, who had similar shoulder-length, dark brown hair as Aika. Blushing hotly he muttered, "I-I meant over there," and pointed towards a different table. Everyone turned to look and saw that the only person sitting there was another boy.

"Jeez, Iruka, I didn't think she looked _that_ much like a boy," Kotetsu said teasingly.

"Nevermind!" Iruka replied, hiding his face behind his milk carton. "I was mistaken!"

"Hey guys," came a serious voice behind them. The group turned to see Anko, a tomboyish and outspoken girl with dark hair pulled into a wild bun, passing by. She offered them a playful smirk to the boys of the table before moving on to an empty seat across the cement patio.

"Did you see that?" Izumo said, turning to smack Kotetsu square in the chest. "She looked at me!"

"She looked at _me_ ," Kotetsu replied, hitting Izumo in the stomach.

"Actually," Kurenai cut in, her voice soft but commanding, "I think she was looking at Iruka."

"Wh-What? No she wasn't! I mean - she may have been. But we're in different classes. Besides, we haven't really talked much since … what? Middle school? Why would she -?"

Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged looks before picking up the small bowls of mixed veggies and scooping it onto their rice.

"I'm only teasing, Iruka," Kurenai said, throwing a glance at the boy beside her. "We all know what class she's in. I'm sure she's just trying to get a rise out of one of you, catch you off guard. You shouldn't fall for it, not with our next competition so close. Also, Iruka, did you have notes on today's lesson?"

"Oh, yes!" Iruka replied, grateful for the shift in conversation. "I have them in my bag. I can give them to you after school."

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

"Do you think I could borrow them too?" Hayate asked, raising his clenched fist to his mouth and coughing violently. His shoulders shook and his lungs seemed to rattle when he took a slow breath.

"O-Of course. I can copy them if you want …"

"Hey - what's this talk about copying? You guys aren't _cheating_ are you?"

The six of them turned to see one of the Year Four teachers, Jiraiya, standing over them. His mouth was pointed in a frown but they could tell he was joking. He eyed them suspiciously and pointed a finger at Iruka who shrunk back, his milk carton still in his hands.

"You're the last person I would expect to be cheating! But I guess every student has their weakness. I'm surprised it's you two that are the ones taking his notes too," Jiraiya continued, looking at Hayate and Kurenai in turn. "I thought for sure you two would be the ones to understand my teachings! I mean, there are a few other kids in this class I could understand cheating …" He glanced around the outdoor seating and frowned genuinely this time. "There are so many … Oh! I'm sorry." Jiraiya crossed his arms and looked at Aika who was hidden on the left side of Iruka, unsure of what was happening. "I didn't mean to be rude. You're not in my class. How do you know my lovely students?"

Before she could even open her mouth to answer, he made a face and said, "Wait, are you Iruka's younger sister?"

Iruka whipped around, wide-eyed and sputtered, "N-No! She's not my sister! Why would you think that!"

"Jeez kid, lighten up - you look like you could be related. Cousins? Distantly? You've both got pretty dark hair and you're both pretty tan, compared to most of these other kids."

"She's lighter than me," Iruka noted, staring at the back of his hands for reference. "And - And we don't look _that_ similar! We're not related. You shouldn't say stuff like that, you could start a rumor!"

"What? A rumor that you're related?" Jiraiya deadpanned and the corner of his thin lip twitched, "Is that such a bad thing? It's pretty harmless. I mean, there are plenty of worse things you could be upset about. Besides, she looks like a nice kid. You should take it as a compliment." Jiraiya looked over Iruka's head at the girl. "What say you?"

Blushing slightly, Aika sat up and gave an awkward smile to the teacher. "No, I'm not related to him. I actually don't have any siblings. And I don't really have any cousins that live here. I walk home the same way as all of them, though, so I see them almost every day after school. Plus Hayate and I live really close to each other! We grew up in the same neighborhood."

"Really? That's nice." Jiraiya paused, surveying the group, and then raised a hand to his mouth in order to mimic whispering. "Tell me, who's your favorite? You have to have a favorite, right? I won't tell them. Personally, I think Izumo and Kotetsu are really annoying -"

"We know you do," Kotetsu interrupted.

"We think you're annoying too," Izumo added.

"- but they don't know that. You don't have to choose a favorite from this group. Do you know any of my other students?"

Aika looked around the open patio and spotted a few other kids she knew who were the same age as the group she sat with - Anko, Genma and Raidou were a few of them. When she turned away, both Izumo and Kotetsu let out sounds that sounded like their feelings had been hurt.

Aika had seen Anko, Genma and Raidou on her walks home from school as well, but she hadn't talked to any of them much other than the one time during her first year at Konoha High when she'd faceplanted on the front steps and accidentally vaulted her book bag over the side railing, down into the bushes. Genma had been walking behind her, talking with his friend Raidou, and they both tripped over her and fell over. Raidou ended up rolling down the steps and Genma was halfway between amused and annoyed at the whole situation since he suffered a scraped chin and bruised palms. But he helped Aika stand up and told her, "It's okay, we all trip over ourselves sometimes. Just don't do it again." Anko was passing by when she saw the whole thing and helped pick up Aika's scattered papers and returned the book bag to her. The first year was so flustered and horrified that she decided she could never speak to those three ever again, even if they _had_ been kind to her. But she had the feeling that every time they saw her, they only imagined a huge neon sign pointing down at her saying _KLUTZ!_ Judging from the conversation she'd been hearing, those three weren't in Jiraiya's class so she didn't mention them.

There was one more kid she knew shared the same grade as the others, but she didn't know if Jiraiya was his teacher or not. Her cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink at the thought of him and she shook her head.

"J-Just a few!" she replied, realizing she looked quite silly saying nothing. "I couldn't choose favorites … That's not very nice!"

"So what? I have a favorite," Jiraiya responded evenly, looking a bit proud of himself.

"What? Who?" Kotetsu asked, puzzled. "Should you even be telling us this?"

"You're right - I shouldn't. But I'll give you a hint - it's none of you!" He laughed boisterously and turned to leave, his shoulders shaking in amusement at his own joke. Suddenly he wheeled around again, startling the group. "Wait - I never got your name! What is it?"

"Huh? Oh! It's Aika - Kinomura Aika."

"Kinomura, huh? What grade are you in, Kinomura-san?"

"I'm a second year student."

"Just a second year? I know a few of the second years around here. Do you know that one kid - what's his name? The kinda weird one with the eyes."

"Uh - Gaara-kun?"

"Yeah! Him! What do you think about him?"

"He's …" She paused to look at the expressions of everyone around her. She gave a quick, breathy laugh and said, "He's very nice to me. I mean, he's … well he's not _mean_. Why do you ask?"

"With my luck, I'll have his siblings next year and him the year after that. I'm just wondering what I can expect from him. He's very quiet."

"Y-Yes, he is. But I don't think it's because - er, well, I suppose everyone has a reason for being the way they are. Some people are quiet. Uhm … but he's a good student."

"Huh … did Hiruzen-sensei tell you that? I mean, the whole thing about everyone has a reason for being the way they are. Did you learn that from him?"

"Ah, yes! How did you know?"

Jiraiya smiled knowingly and shrugged. "I've been a teacher here for a while now. I know just about every teaching method there is - and I was once a student, too. I won't admit how long ago because that'll give away my age - and if I give away my age, I give away Lady Tsunade's age too and she'd kill me! But let's just say once upon a time, I was given the exact same speech by Hiruzen-sensei. I think we all were … Anyway, I've got to get back to the classroom before lunch is over. I'll see you around!" He strutted off, his white hair swaying carelessly behind him.

There was a silence at the table as everyone poked at their food. Aika pushed a piece of chicken into her bowl of rice with her chopsticks, pursing her lips. "He seemed nice," she said, not sure what else she should be saying. The silence seemed awkward and unnecessary.

"Yeah, nice enough when we aren't in the middle of a competition," Izumo retorted. He jabbed a finger toward the table across the patio and said, "You see those kids over there? Anko, Asuma, Genma and Raidou? They're part of Lady Tsunade's class."

"Uhm … okay. Is that bad?" Aika asked, looking over towards the table.

"Well, you see …" Kotetsu said slowly, "Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sensei have a kind of long-standing rivalry. They each try to get their students to have the best grades on tests, best performances in sports, best looking too … They don't want us really talking to kids from each other's class, so that's why we're all sitting at different tables."

"But that girl - Anko - she said hi to you guys."

"Yeah, but you remember what Kurenai said? She was trying to unsettle us, get us off our game. We have a class competition coming up soon. If we're distracted even a little bit, they'll pummel us."

"But we're pretty used to their antics by now," Izumo said. "I mean, it's been going on since before we were put into these classes. It's not super out of character for her to say hi to us, but now there's ulterior motives behind it."

"Not that _I_ minded -" Kotetsu began.

Izumo huffed, "As if she'd go for someone like you."

"I think I have a better chance than you do. Look at your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Can you even see out of that one eye? What are you trying to block out? Your bad sense of fashion? Your past decisions? Maybe it's so you don't have to look at yourself in the mirror every morning. If only you'd spare _us_ from having to look at you."

"Hardy har har, you're so funny."

"Also," Kotetsu ignored his friend and motioned towards a student with a silky bowl cut and thick eyebrows, "that's Gai. He's in our class - that's why he's not sitting with the others, like Anko and everyone."

"He looks so alone!" Aika cried, seeing that Gai was by himself. "Did I take his seat? I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, don't worry about him," Kurenai cut in. "He likes to sit alone to study and, well, I guess to try to be the best. But he'll join us sometime later."

"That's not the thing, though," Kotetsu said. "Gai is in our class, _but_ Lady Tsunade has a kid in her class and he and Gai have it out for each other!"

"Gai calls him his 'eternal rival'," Izumo said, rolling his eyes. "They're always doing dumb competitions, seeing who is better. This means that our classes are even _more_ competitive than usual. Not only are Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sensei at each other's throats, but so are some of their students! It can get pretty ugly."

"I'm surprised Hayate hasn't told you any of this," Kotetsu said. "Aren't you supposed to be best friends?"

Hayate shrugged as he coughed again. "It's never come up in conversation. I thought it would bore her."

"What _do_ you guys talk about?" Izumo asked. "Or does Hayate just cough the entire time you're together and you just interpret it?"

"She's very good at it," Hayate said, taking a large swig of his tea. "She's had so many years of practice. It's a miracle she can understand your gibberish, Izumo."

"What is this? Pick On Izumo Day? I thought I hated myself enough for all of us."

"Since you've already befriended us," Hayate said through more coughs, "and you've met with Jiraiya-sensei, it'd be best to stay away from Lady Tsunade and her class."

"Unless you want to unleash the true fury of Lady Tsunade," Kotetsu warned. "Or of Jiraiya-sensei. Someone or another will probably accuse you of being a 'spy' if you befriend both classes."

"What!" Aika exclaimed, looking bewilderedly at each student in turn. "So I can't talk to anyone from Lady Tsunade's class? How - How do I even know who all of them are? I've already met a few of them! I met them before I met most of you guys! I mean, not that I _talk_ to them, but …"

"Just to be on the safe side, maybe you should only talk to us," Izumo said, though his tone gave away the fact that he was joking. "Tell you what - there is someone _you personally_ probably don't wanna mess around with, and he also happens to be in Lady Tsunade's class."

"Huh? Who?"

Izumo glanced over towards Gai's table. Everyone's gaze shifted too and they saw Gai leap to his feet and point exuberantly at the boy passing by his table: a stone-faced, silver-haired student who looked absolutely bored.

"Hatake Kakashi."

Aika's face flushed red and she looked down at her tray. Her worries had been confirmed, he _was_ part of Tsunade's class. That meant she couldn't talk to him according to everyone she'd spoken to today. But why 'her personally'?

"K-Kakashi-san? But I sometimes see him too when I walk home! And I've spoken to him a - a few times. Am I supposed to ignore him? What's so bad about him?"

"He's a jerk," Izumo said, sounding far angrier than was necessary. "Even if he wasn't part of Lady Tsunade's class, we'd tell you to ignore him! He's not a good friend - he's not even a good person."

"Izumo," Kurenai said gently, reaching out across the table but he pulled away and folded his arms.

"It's true and you know it. He hasn't been the same since …" Izumo's eyes flickered to Iruka and both boys looked away. "He's just not a nice person, okay? And you … you're way nice. Sometimes too nice. Don't bother with someone like him. Just … Just settle for someone like Hayate."

"Settle? Thanks." Hayate looked unimpressed with the compliment. "I think I'm quite the catch."

"The only thing she'd catch with you is a permanent cold," Kotetsu muttered. "You know what, Kinomura-chan? Don't catch feelings at all. Dating is the worst thing you can do for your health."

"Imagine Hayate," Izumo stressed, turning his attention to his classmate whose face had somehow conveyed even less amusement, "if he was dating. He'd be dead right off the bat. Someone that sick couldn't make it to a week anniversary. In fact, the reason he's so sick is because of how much he's dated. He used to be wild back in the day, and it's taken such a toll on his health. Look at him. How pathetic."

"I - I've known him all these years," Aika protested, sitting forward, "he hasn't dated anyone!"

"That you know of," Kotetsu pointed out. "Even Hayate has his secrets. Everyone does. I do, Izumo does, I know Kurenai _definitely_ has secrets -"

"Watch it, Hagane."

"- and we all know Iruka has loads of secre-"

Iruka huffed and set his chopsticks down on his tray. "I think I'm going to head back into the classroom, it's getting kind of cold outside. Kurenai, Hayate, you needed my notes, right? I can start copying them and give them to you after school." He stood, taking his tray with him. "I'll see you around, Aika-chan."

"Ah! Goodbye, Iruka -!"

Iruka strode off, his dark eyes down and his broad shoulders tense.

"Oops," Kotetsu grimaced, looking a bit guilty. "Guess I hit a nerve."

"You're an idiot," Izumo said.

"We should probably head inside too," Kurenai said smoothly, glancing towards the one-sided argument that had broken out between a lively Gai and an unfazed Kakashi. "Izumo, Kotetsu, you go get Gai and I'll take your trays. Aika - Hayate and I may be a little late if we're getting notes from Iruka but you're more than welcome to wait for us so we can walk home together."

"I will," Aika beamed as the others stood from the table. "I'll see you after school!"

Izumo and Kotetsu hurried to pry Gai away from an inexpressive Kakashi and back towards the school building. As they passed, Gai shot Aika a grin and a thumbs up.

"You've chosen the right people to befriend, young lady!" he bellowed, his teeth unnaturally bright and white, glistening in the afternoon sun. "A friend of Gai is a friend who doesn't have to worry about anything! You just let me know if Kakashi - or anyone else from Lady Tsunade's class - is bothering you and I'll take care of it!"

"Uh - thank you?"

Izumo pushed Gai towards the school and Kotetsu followed close behind. Aika looked over and blushed hotly when she saw that the kids from Tsunade's class were staring at her, as was everyone else on the patio. She hurriedly finished her own meal and rushed inside the school building, trying to pretend she wasn't being studied by at least a dozen pairs of eyes.


	2. Hooked On A Feeling

**A/N:** Woo hoo! Chapter 2 edited! I'm really excited for how this version is going to do! It was really time to move on from the old storyline and try something new. Hopefully I'll have a type of updating/publishing schedule where I post new chapters once every two weeks. I'll have one week to write and edit, and then the next week I'll update! This way I'll be more evenly paced and motivated to keep on writing! Please don't forget to review/comment, subscribe to alerts, and favorite this story! Thank you for reading!

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"Do you want me to walk you home … What are you doing?"

Aika looked up from the beetle she'd been following across the sidewalk and smiled sheepishly at the boy standing before her. "Ah, Te-chan, I was just looking at this bug. Sorry. I thought we were all walking home together?"

Hayate covered his mouth to cough, the bags under his eyes looking darker than normal. "Kurenai is staying later so she can help Izumo and Kotetsu copy notes, too. They finally decided it was time to take their senior year seriously. It's just us."

"That's fine too." Aika slung her book bag over her shoulder and headed down the sidewalk, Hayate strolling lazily beside her. "How was the rest of your day?"

"It was fine," Hayate said, shifting his shoulders under the straps of his backpack. "Nothing much to mention. Except …"

"Hm? Except what?"

Hayate sighed and turned his gaze upwards, watching clouds roll through the late afternoon sky. "We had another class competition today. It was supposed to be later this week, but they bumped it up to today because …" Hayate glanced at her and turned away.

"What? Why did they change it?"

"Because of you."

"Huh?"

Hayate stuck his hands into his coat pockets and shrugged. "Jiraiya-sensei ended up running into Lady Tsunade before lunch ended. He started bragging about how he's now got outside support from other students at the school - which is you, by the way - and that with such a spirited and lovely girl taking our side, there was no way we'd lose any more competitions. This made Lady Tsunade really angry so she said we'd all do the competition today instead … So we did."

"I … I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to … Well, I'm not sure what I did exactly, but whatever it was, I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. _You_ had nothing to do with it, really. It was Jiraiya-sensei and his big mouth. If he would've left well enough alone we could've had more time." Hayate looked exhausted.

"You were talking about this earlier during lunch. So what exactly are the competitions? Are you split into groups? Or do you compare your scores with Lady Tsunade's class?"

"No." Hayate stopped at an intersection and glanced both ways, guiding Aika across the street quickly to avoid a car headed their way. "Remember how we said that Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sensei have this rivalry thing going on?"

"Yes."

"Well, every week or so our classes have some type of competition. It could be for anything, but it's usually some type of quiz or even a sport. Today we had to play our version of that one game - Jeopardy." He grimaced deeply and his eyes glazed over as if he were recalling a terrible memory.

"Oh," Aika said, running her hands over the pleats of her skirt in uncertainty. "I'm sorry."

"What? Sorry for what?"

"Did you guys lose? I'm sorry, I know that those are important -"

"No, we blew them out of the water. I've never seen Lady Tsunade so angry. I do wish we had more time to study the subjects since we didn't even get to do a review. But Gai was enough distraction during class that Kakashi didn't participate. He's probably the smartest out of both of our classes, honestly. But now that means we'll have something else next week and since Lady Tsunade gets to choose what the competition is, I'm sure it's going to be a real pain." Hayate coughed violently and let out a sort of disappointed, strangled sound. "I can't wait to graduate and get out of there. If you can help it, try to get into a class that _isn't_ led by Lady Tsunade or Jiraiya-sensei."

"Oh - okay. I'll try then, though … I'm not sure how much say I have."

The two crossed another street and headed into a neighborhood crowded with two-story wooden houses. There were a handful of kids from the middle school walking home as well, and a few adults standing out on their porches. Aika pulled her jacket closer to her body, feeling the early evening chill of April run down her arms. She wasn't sure what else she should say to Hayate, but neither of them really minded the quiet. They'd known each other since Aika started elementary school and Hayate was in the second grade; Hayate had been in charge of walking her home after school almost every day and the habit stuck into middle school and now high school. Aika had seen Hayate's friend group grow and shrink from far away, never willing to step out and meet them until Hayate finally introduced her to his classmates when she started at Konoha High. The first few weeks had been awkward - Aika had known _about_ these people for years, but she'd never talked to them much. She almost felt like a stalker, finally befriending the people she'd watched from a distance.

It was also a bit strange since Hayate didn't talk much about classes, so quite often lunchtime conversations involved things she had no idea about. And since Hayate started his senior year, he seemed busier than ever so they had little time to talk; the only time they saw each other now was during lunch and on the walk to and from school.

They arrived at the T-intersection of the neighborhood and Hayate turned to her, his pale cheeks flushed pink with the spring chill. "Do you still want me to walk you all the way home? Or are you okay from here?"

"I'll be fine! You should go home since this is your street. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Hayate nodded and turned left, heading down the street to his own house. Aika tugged at the hem of her sock to pull it up her calf before marching down the sidewalk, her mind returning to the conversation she'd had at lunch. So Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya were at war with each other. It kind of made sense - she'd only ever met Jiraiya, but he did seem like the type to spark a rivalry with someone. But did she _really_ have to choose sides? She was really glad for all the people she had become friends with, and it must have been luck they were all in the same class (or maybe that was just Hayate quietly guiding her to the "right" friends), but … was she actually not allowed to talk to Kakashi? It was his senior year and if she didn't get the chance to talk to him now then she'd probably never see him again. She wasn't even part of either teacher's class, so it should be okay … right?

Aika recalled a moment in middle school when she was walking home with Hayate and they were stopped by his friends at the time which included many of Lady Tsunade's students. Now that she thought about it, Hayate's decrease in friendships over the years did seem to line up with his time at Konoha High. But he'd started losing friends _before_ that. Maybe it was just him outgrowing sandbox love.

"You're late."

Aika nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the cold, low voice and her head snapped up to look at her front porch. A young man with red hair and light, sea-green eyes was standing there, his arms crossed in annoyance. He stared down at her disapprovingly and she shrunk under his gaze, clutching at the folds of her skirt.

"Sorry, Gaara-kun," she murmured, walking up the front steps to stand on the porch. "I was waiting for a few other people so we could walk home together but they decided to stay later than planned. I thought Temari and Kankuro were coming too?"

"Your mom let them inside," he said as he followed her through the front door. "I wanted to wait out here."

"Oh." Aika's face burned with embarrassment and she led Gaara into the house, closing the door behind them. She suddenly felt very guilty for not mentioning to Jiraiya that she'd been friends with the Suna siblings since she first met them three years prior, when they moved into town. She was closest to Temari, the only girl - and then Gaara, the youngest. Kankuro was the middle child and certainly acted like an older brother to her, but his antics with her next door neighbor Haru made him hard to stand sometimes.

When they first moved into the neighborhood, Aika had been on edge around Gaara, though she was never frightened of him. When she found out they were in the same grade, she felt the need to try harder to befriend the redhead. It helped that the three siblings were hardly ever seen without one another, so Gaara was a common face at their house. Now that they were in the same classroom, their bond had strengthened - at the surprise of both Temari and Kankuro.

The aroma of green tea and red bean paste was thick on the air and they heard lively chatter coming from the living room. Peeking around the wall, Aika saw a handful of people sitting on the couches, laughing loudly. One of them looked over and a smile spread across his face and he motioned her forward.

"It's about time!" Kankuro called, catching the attention of Temari, Aika's mom Fumiko, and Haru. "I didn't think you'd ever show up! Why are you so late?"

"Sorry," Aika apologized again, giving a curt bow to the group. "I was waiting for a few other students at school but they decided to stay later to copy notes."

"Did Hayate walk you home?" Fumiko asked, standing from the couch farthest from the living room entrance to hug her daughter.

"Yes! He was going to walk me all the way here but I told him to go home. I think he's catching a cold."

"It's kind of hard to tell, isn't it? I'll send some soup with you tomorrow so you can give it to him, just in case." The tall brunette woman turned and smiled to the group. "Well, now that Aika is here, I'll leave you all to have fun. Let me know if you need anything." Fumiko gave a quick pat to Gaara's shoulder in greeting before disappearing into another part of the house. The two younger students found a place next to each other on the couch Fumiko had just left; Kankuro and Haru sat on the couch opposite them and Temari sat cross-legged on the ground with her elbows propped on the low coffee table.

"Now that we're all here …" Kankuro said, pulling up his worn canvas bag and throwing it onto the table.

"Jeez, be careful!" Temari shouted, reaching over to sock him in the thigh. "If you break that you have to buy them a new one!"

Ignoring his sister, Kankuro rifled through the bag and pulled out a stack of notebooks and dropped a loose handful of pens on the table, sending them rolling to the floor. "Let's get this out of the way first," he said as he ran his thumb over the edges of one notebook and flipped it open. "So, do any of you guys know how to do this homework? I'd do it myself but - frankly, I don't want to."

" _Kankuro_!" Temari growled, reaching for the leaflet he was waving in the air. "You can do the homework yourself, you lazy oaf!"

"I thought you and Temari were in the same class," Haru said suddenly, frowning at the boy to her left. "Why don't you just ask her?"

"You don't think I tried?" Kankuro flicked the paper away from his sister's grasp. "Like she'd ever let me copy off of her. And we're in the same _grade_ , not the same class."

"I still can't believe they held me back," Temari lamented, finally wrangling the homework sheet out of her brother's hand. "Now everyone thinks Kankuro and I are twins or something. But that's not important! We aren't here for homework. We're here to celebrate Haru's first week of high school!"

"Okay," Kankuro interrupted, handing a pen to his sister as if he expected her to fill in the paper, "but if _I_ don't do well on that homework then I won't even be _finishing_ high school."

"Boo hoo," Haru said. "You should've been paying more attention during class then! You can't rely on other people to get you through high school. Besides, you still have a whole year, don't you? You're not graduating this winter."

"With his grades, he won't graduate at all. That _one_ piece of homework won't do much to help him," Gaara said quietly, drawing a stifled laugh from Haru and a loud cackle from Temari. "Can we get on with this, please? We already had to wait for Aika to get here, and now we're wasting more time."

"Well aren't _you_ the life of the party?" Kankuro muttered, shoving his notebooks and pens back into his bag. Temari quickly folded the single sheet of homework into a paper plane and tossed it into the bag, along with the pen. "Great, now there's going to be a crease running through the cross section of that rock. Thanks. Aika, your mom said dinner would be ready in about an hour so we can watch a movie first."

"Why are you telling her?" Haru asked, reaching out to smack Kankuro's arm with the back of her hand. "I think we should do something else first, and then watch the movie during dinner."

"Yeah, but it's Aika's house," Kankuro countered. "She should be the one to decide."

As the two continued to bicker, Temari gave a frustrated glance to Aika who shrugged helplessly. She knew it was pointless - and safer - to stay out of the fight. Temari motioned for Aika to follow her out of the living room and the younger girl followed, quickly standing from the couch and leaving the two to argue. Gaara rose from his spot and trailed after the girls, crossing his arms in annoyance again.

"Let them fight," Temari huffed as she walked towards the kitchen. "They're so annoying. I don't even know why we bother to let them be in the same room. All they do is argue!" Slipping unnoticed into the kitchen, Temari stalked over to the counter and snagged a raw green bean from a metal colander. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Aika attempted to steal a green bean as well but she was met with the stern look from her mom returning to the kitchen, pointing at her.

"You fill up before it's all ready and you won't want to eat when it's dinnertime! Go, shoo! And tell Haru to stop fighting with Kankuro. If they can't behave in this house then they can argue out on the street. They should know by now that I don't allow arguing in my house!"

"Sorry," Temari cut in, blushing in embarrassment. "I'll be sure to knock that into his head this time. Sorry about that, Obasan." The oldest of the group headed back into the hall between the kitchen and living room, idling between the rooms. She waved Aika closer and Gaara followed. "Hey, I wanted to tell you guys -"

" _I think that movie's stupid!_ "

" _Well good thing nobody asked you!_ "

Temari's eyes rolled back into her head until the only thing showing were the whites. She clenched her hands into fists and shook them, "If they don't shut up, I'll knock both their lights out! That, or your mom will. Anyway - real quick before I go in there and kill them - did you hear that they're going to hold a dance at the school? It was originally just supposed to be for the seniors, but they decided to open it to everyone."

"I didn't hear anything about it," Aika mused, putting her hands on her hips. "Or …" She turned to Gaara who looked a bit surprised at the sudden movement, "Did Hiruzen-sensei say anything about it?"

"No," he said, looking away in boredom. "And even if he did, why would you want to go? It's just another stupid school event. You know the students are going to use it as an excuse to mess around, and then everyone is going to get in trouble. It's a pain."

"I agree with you, but I -" Temari added quickly, catching the attention of the two second years in front of her. Her eyes darted away and a soft blushed covered her face. "I thought maybe it'd be nice to go as a group … you know, something to do if we're bored. Besides," she cleared her throat and stared at Aika, giving a small smirk, "I figured this would be a great time to try to set you up with Kakashi."

Aika's face turned redder than Gaara's hair and she shook her head violently, waving her hands in front of herself. "Wh-What? No! You can't do that! I - I - _no_!"

" _Yes_ ," the older girl stressed, her smirk now a full-fledged grin. "Come on, you've had a crush on him for how long? You can't admire him from afar forever. And he's a senior this year. You're not gonna get another chance."

"I know … but … What if I ask him and he says no?"

Temari shrugged, "Screw him. But! We're going to go about it a different way. We're going to get _him_ to ask _you_ out. I know he knows about you." A devilish look crossed her face and Aika shrunk away, her back hitting the wall behind her. "He even knows your name. You don't even have to bother with introductions now!"

"W-Well _yeah_ , I used to see him on my walks home! We've talked a few times. Er, I mean, _I_ kinda talked. He listened … Well, I'm not sure if he listened but … G-Get him to ask me out? That's not going to work. Why would he want to ask me out when there are plenty of other girls his age, in his class? And why do you want to help me do that, anyway? If I get a date to the dance then we can't really go as a group."

"Because," Gaara cut in, his light eyes training on his older sister who tensed instantly, "she's hoping she can get a date too."

"What? Who?" Aika wheeled on Temari who was just as flushed as the younger girl. "You like someone? Who is it!"

"N-Nobody! I don't want a date! I want to get _you_ a date!" Despite how she felt, Temari didn't dare shoot a dirty look at her younger brother.

"His name is Shikamaru," Gaara continued, a surprisingly teasing look in his eyes. "He's a first year at Konoha High -"

"He's a _second_ year," Temari interrupted quickly, her face red hot. "He's really smart so they moved him up a grade, okay? So he's only a year under me."

"Technically," Gaara pointed out, more amusement entering his expression, "since he was moved up and you were held back, doesn't that make him two years younger than you? Maybe even three? She's just helping you, Aika, because she thinks we know him since he's in our grade."

Temari was fuming but she bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. " _Aika_ ," she stressed, letting her brother know that he wasn't included in this conversation, "you and I will figure out something, okay? The dance is supposed to be before break, so we have some time to come up with a plan." She kept her eyes down as she turned and walked back into the living room.

"What's wrong Temari?" Kankuro asked as he dangled a DVD case above his head, out of reach of the small redheaded girl who was grabbing for it. "You're pretty red. Did somebody mention that deer kid?"

That was the last straw. Obviously taking her frustrations with Gaara out on whoever she could readily overpower, Temari stormed over to Kankuro, snatched the DVD out of his hands, pulled open the living room window and frisbee'd it out onto the lawn.

"Wh-What was that for?!" Kankuro shouted, turning to stare in shock at his older sister. She slammed the window shut and turned around, giving him a satisfied smirk.

"Looks like we'll just have to watch it later, huh?"

Haru collapsed to the ground, trying her hardest to keep her laughter contained for the time being. Defeated, Kankuro sank down onto one of the couches and held his head in his hands.

"Fine," he muttered, kicking his bag on the floor, "we'll do something else."


	3. Teenagers

**A/N:** So I've had this chapter written and edited for a couple of months now along with a few others, but I haven't been updating because I got so caught up in art trades and requests. Those are all fun but I felt so left behind in my own writing and it made me really sad. I recently received a lovely review from someone on AO3 about this story and they really encouraged me to put up the next chapter and complete this story. I look forward to working on this! Thanks to everyone who reads this for being so patient! I'll upload a new chapter in a week or two, maybe sooner!

* * *

Temari had come up with part of a plan to get Kakashi to ask Aika out, but it required a _lot_ of effort on Aika's part. Actually, it was Aika who would do _all_ the work. Which would have been fine except that the entire plan boiled down to "woo with words." Basically, Aika was supposed to talk to Kakashi so often that he finally noticed her and asked her to the dance.

"It's what I did - _would_ do," Temari had corrected herself, flushing bright red and clearing her throat, " _if_ I was going to try to win somebody over. Just talk to them! You can do that. It'll be easy. You've talked to him before."

Somehow that wasn't encouraging, and mumbling a few awkward "Hello"s on the way home from school didn't really count as talking to someone. Still, Temari persisted and Aika followed orders. Over the past week since the blonde had come up with the plan, Aika had "conveniently" ran into him on her walk home from school, no longer waiting for Hayate or Kurenai to escort her to her neighborhood. She fell into a hurried pace beside the stone-faced, silver-haired boy and tried to keep her erratic heartbeat under control long enough to form a string of words that kind of resembled a coherent sentence. It didn't help that Kakashi didn't really bother to strike up a conversation with her himself. He kept his eyes in a thick stack of papers clipped together at the top, reading over whatever it was. It seemed like he was suffering from an extreme case of tunnel vision. At the end of the week, Aika had only been able to speak three words to him, and all she managed to say was, "What is that?" (trying to encourage _some type_ of talking from the senior), but he cast a cold glance to her, turned back to the manuscript and said calmly, "Not for you to read." Embarrassed and belittled, Aika had dropped the subject and refused to go through with Temari's plan - she'd never get the guts to talk to him again.

The day after that exchange, Aika was sitting in class, dreading the walk home from school. She had one of two options - try again to talk to Kakashi, or walk home with Hayate and explain to him why she'd gone AWOL for a whole week. Neither of those were very appealing. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a cold hand land solidly on her shoulder. She spun in her seat to see the cold, sea-green eyes of Gaara staring back at her.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, his face set in a stern frown.

"N-No. What?"

Gaara pointed past her to the whiteboard littered with notes. Among them was a large notice for all the students: _School dance - Girls ask guys._

A rather undignified squeak left Aika's mouth and half the class turned to see what made the noise. She whipped around to stare in horror at Gaara. "What - What - What does _that_ mean?!"

"I think it means the girls ask the guys," Gaara replied evenly.

"But that means -"

"Temari's plan is a waste of time."

"Once she finds out, she's going to make me ask him! I can't do that! I think I've actually made him hate me."

"He doesn't hate you," Gaara said offhandedly, standing from his desk. "It's time for lunch. You should eat with your friends. Temari will try to force you to ask out Kakashi, but if I have lunch with them then I'll keep them away from you. That way they can't bother you."

"Ah, Gaara-kun why would you do that? That's so nice of you -"

"I'm not doing it to be nice. The longer it takes you to ask Kakashi, the more likely another girl will ask him and then Temari will shut up about this stupid dance." Without saying anything else, he turned and headed out of the classroom. Aika scuttled after the rest of her class, anxious about if Gaara really could keep Temari away during lunch.

* * *

There was an awkward silence when Aika joined the group at lunch and no one wanted to look at her. She took her seat between Iruka and Izumo. Across the patio, the six from Tsunade's class were chattering excitedly while Gai sat his own table, and Kakashi headed off to find his reading spot on another part of the campus. Half of lunch passed in silence before Aika decided enough was enough. She was glad no one questioned her about her absence for the past week but not talking seemed even worse.

"So … are you guys all going to the dance?"

Half the table flinched and the other half turned away, pretending to be occupied with something else.

"What's wrong? You do know about the dance, right? You're all seniors, so -"

"Oh, we know about it," Kotetsu said suddenly, the first one willing to speak. "It's just …"

"… just …? What?"

Kotetsu cleared his throat and looked down at his tray of food. Aika looked at everyone else, lost.

"What's wrong? Are you guys upset because the girls are supposed to ask the guys? I'm sure lots of girls will ask you! You're all very, uhm … kind … and nice-looking. You shouldn't worry about not having a date."

"We weren't really worried about that," Izumo said, poking at his salad with a chopstick. "It's not just seniors who are allowed to go. It's school-wide."

"Uh-huh."

Everyone ceased talking for a moment before Hayate, coughing into a napkin, gave a weak smile and said, "Aika, we're going to have a small get-together next weekend at Izumo's house. Did you want to go? I'll be there."

Izumo leaned forward to give Hayate a strange look. "Is that your only selling point?"

"Of course!" Aika blurted out, smiling brightly. "I'd love to hang out with you!"

Hayate looked back at Izumo and shrugged, "Looks like that's all it took. Why? You don't think I'm a good selling point?"

Izumo looked at Aika grimly and muttered, "You need to raise your standards."

"Huh? What's wrong with Hayate?"

"Hey Aika," Kotetsu said, smiling wickedly, "if you don't have anyone else in mind, maybe you should ask Hayate to the dance. You two would be cute toget - AH!" Kotetsu jerked backward and glared across the table.

"What's wrong?" Aika asked frantically as the boy pulled his knee up and began rubbing his shin.

"Oh, _nothing_ ," Kotetsu said gruffly, turning in his seat. "It just felt like I got kicked really hard in the leg is all."

"O-Oh. That's …"

"Don't worry about it," Kotetsu groaned.

"Well, uhm … You were saying something? I should ask Hayate out?"

"Yeah, I -"

The table jumped and this time Aika pulled her leg up, shouting in surprise. "Ow! Did someone just kick me?!"

Iruka paled and he turned to her, "I didn't me - I, I mean … are you okay?" He shot a glare at Kotetsu who made a face at him.

"I think so … I think whatever happened to Kotetsu-kun happened to me too."

"How strange," Izumo said, staring at Iruka with unblinking eyes. "Whatever do you think it was, Iruka?"

Iruka buried his face into his hands.

Their conversation was cut off by the school bell ringing throughout the courtyard, signaling the end of lunch. As the classmates began collecting their trays, Kurenai gently pulled Aika aside out of earshot from the rest of the group.

"Aika, I need to talk to you."

"Uhm, okay. What's wrong?"

"You …" Kurenai stopped when Kotetsu passed by, giving her a subtle nod of approval. She cleared her throat and looked at the younger girl seriously. "I know what your friend has been doing. She's trying to set you up with Kakashi, right?"

Aika's cheeks flamed red and she stammered, "How - How did you know that? I-I haven't told a-anyone!"

"You haven't been walking home with Hayate for a week now. He was a little suspicious, and then he saw you walking off with Kakashi. Trust me, I know what it's like to have feelings for someone who seems so much more mature and wiser than you - especially when they have that air of mystery around them. But we aren't joking when we said that you need to steer clear of him." Kurenai cast a long look towards the silver-haired boy that was walking alone back to the school building. "I've known him since elementary school and he's changed a lot … There are a lot of things in his past that you don't know anything about - things he'll never share with you. He's …" Kurenai sighed heavily and looked sadly at the underclassman. "Deep down he is a good person, but he won't let you get to know him that way. We used to _all_ be friends …" Hesitating, Kurenai suddenly placed her hands firmly on Aika's shoulders. "Just forget about him, okay? You're young and innocent and sweet, and you should stay that way. Until he gets his life sorted you, you don't need to be tangled up in that, okay? So please, at least for me, be careful, okay?"

Aika nodded numbly, unsure of what to think just yet. She'd known that Kakashi had secrets - everybody had secrets - but the way Kurenai was talking, it sounded like he had some hideous, dark past you only see in movies. Kurenai heaved a sigh of relief and let go of the girl's shoulders.

"Good. Now come on, let's get inside before we're late. Can Hayate walk you home today?"

Not sure of her own voice, Aika just nodded and followed Kurenai back inside. Now more curious than ever, Aika wished she could figure out what Kakashi's dark past exactly was. She was just afraid of disappointing Kurenai if she did so.

* * *

The next weekend arrived and Aika felt absolutely horrified at her mother's suggestion.

"Sweetie, it's a little friendly get together, right?" Fumiko said as she pulled a tray out of the oven. "It's rude to go to a house without a gift, so I'm making you cupcakes to take. How many did you say would be there?"

"I-I'm not sure," she said, just imagining the look on the upperclassmen's faces when a little doe-eyed second year showed up with frosted pink cupcakes to their house party. Just because she'd known Hayate for a long time didn't mean that she wouldn't be laughed out of the house immediately.

"Well I'm making a dozen. That should be enough, right?" Fumiko waved an oven mitt over the tray and smiled warmly at her daughter. "Did you want to help decorate them? I bought sprinkles, too."

"No, that's okay. I - I don't think you need to make them so nice," she said stiffly, staring at the bare cupcakes. "Uhm … You really didn't need to make them in the first place."

"Nonsense. No child of mine is going to show up to a party without food. Now, come on - help me put these on the rack so they can cool faster. You've only got a few hours before your party."

Begrudgingly, Aika shuffled over to the counter, picked up a butter knife and popped the cupcakes out of the tin. She grimaced and held one up. " _Mom_."

"What?"

"You used the polka dot liners?"

"Yes. Why? What's wrong with those? They're cute!"

 _Yeah, if you're twelve._

"What's wrong, Aika? You look stressed. Do you not want to take these?"

"I just …" Embarrassed now that her mother had read her not-too-subtle emotions on her face , she set down the knife and folded her arms. "I just don't want them to make fun of me. They're … they're all so much older than me. I don't think any of _them_ use polka dot liners for cupcakes. I don't think they even _eat_ cupcakes."

"Sweetie, everyone eats cupcakes. And why would they laugh at you? You're bringing them food - they should be grateful. Besides, they're your friends. Why are you so nervous? You've hung out with them before."

True, she had spent quite a lot of time with Hayate and Kurenai - and she'd spent every lunch with the others - but this felt different. It was more intimate. It was at someone's house; someone other than Hayate. Perhaps it was because she was preoccupied with the dance and what Kurenai had said. _We used to_ all _be friends._ It was frustrating being the only person in a group of friends who didn't know what was going on. She wished she was older, had been friends with them all from the beginning, and knew all of their secrets. It seemed like it'd be easier.

"Aika? Do you want to bring these or not?"

Pulled out of her thoughts, Aika blinked slowly and looked at the cooling cupcakes on the wire rack. She nodded firmly, "Yes, I will. Thank you for making them."

Fumiko beamed and handed her a container of cream cheese frosting. "Good! Now you can decorate them any way you want, okay?"

* * *

The doorbell rang and Aika's heart leapt up to her throat. She clutched the Tupperware container of frosted cupcakes and pulled open the door, looking out into the early evening sky. There were few clouds and the wind wasn't blowing - yet. She'd probably only need a light jacket, that was good.

Hayate stood on the porch, hands in his pockets, bags under his eyes darker than ever. He gave a weak smile and nodded at the girl. "Are you ready?"

"Mhm."

"What are those?" His eyes landed on the plastic container and she flinched.

"Uhm … cupcakes."

Hayate tilted his head to look into the box. "Are they … pink?"

"… yes."

"With star sprinkles?"

"… yes."

He nodded. "That's nice of you. I should've brought something. You're very thoughtful, Aika."

"O-Oh, th-thank you!" She tightened her grip on the box and shook her head, "Actually, it was my mom. She made them."

"Ah, I see. She's very kind too. Did you tell her I said thank you for the soup last week?"

"Yes! She said if you ever want any more, she'd be glad to make you some. Or I guess I could. Are you - Are you okay?!"

Hayate's eyes widened and he doubled over, coughing violently into his fist. "I - I'm f-fine. I just -" He coughed hard several times, his shoulders shaking. "I think I've caught a cold waiting out here for you."

"No! Are you serious?! Hayate, I'm so sorry -!"

He waved his hand as he stood up shakily, giving a strained smile. "I-I'm just kidding. I didn't catch it waiting out here … but I do think I ha-have a cold. Maybe you _should_ make me some soup."

Aika sighed, handed the box of cupcakes to Hayate, and trudged back into the house.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back!"

A few moments later she returned with two jackets - a small pale green one and a larger black one, and a heavy knitted scarf. She pulled on her own jacket, took the cupcakes back, and shoved the articles of clothing into Hayate's hands. "Wear these."

"Huh? Whose are these?"

"My mom made that scarf last year and I never wore it - it's too long for me."

Hayate zipped up the jacket, sighing at the warmth of the fleece lining, and wrapped the scarf around his neck three times. "Whose jacket is this?"

"It's, uhm … it was my dad's. Hey, are we going to be late?"

"Oh … Sorry, uh, yes you're right. We better go."

Aika stepped out onto the porch, shut the door behind her, and followed Hayate down the steps and towards the street. "How far does Izumo live?"

"Hmm. A little farther than me. It shouldn't take too long. Besides," he turned to cough into his fist again. "If we get hungry, we have snacks, right?"

Aika laughed, "Yes, that's true."


End file.
